UPDATE: Solar Disinfection (SODIS) Pilot Program

During our November 2014 trip, EWB-USA Philadelphia implemented a SODIS pilot with thirty two (32) families from different sectors as participants. Families were selected before our arrival to the community by Gloria Opinaldo, one of the community members.

In April 2015, EWB-USA Philadelphia was able to interview twenty-three (23) of the families that were participating on our SODIS pilot program.

Graph 1. Families Using SODIS

Of the five (5) that stopped using SODIS, three (3) are buying bottled water and one (1) is boiling their water before drinking, and one (1) is drinking water directly from the well will no treatment. Other families are using boiling and buying bottled water in addition to using SODIS.

One of our concerns is that, although explained during our presentation, many families are treating their water for less than the 24-hr recommended treatment period. This was stressed during our survey visits.

Graph 2. Hours of Treatment

Saint Louis College will continue conducting a check-in survey every three months to each family.  Our team will also make an effort to expand the pilot program as many community members expressed interest in using solar disinfection to treat their water.

Check-in survey interview by Loyda García

              Federico Obillo, a community member currently using SODIS

Tippy-Taps: A new sanitation approach for the community of Apatut

     Robert DiFilippo and I visited Apatut last April. One of our goals for the trip was to build a tippy-tap at the community elementary school and to present the students with effective sanitation practices. Tippy-taps were first developed by Dr. Jim Watt of the Salvation Army in Chiweshe, Zimbabwe¹ and are now used in several developing countries. They also have proven to be a great solution for increasing hand washing and reducing the occurrence of diarrhea and other illnesses; especially among kids.

     Around 60 students and their parents attended the tippy-tap construction seminar at the elementary school. Zenaida Ollero and Maria Gracia Alejo, two of the school teachers, helped us organize the event and several parents helped with looking for local materials for the tippy-tap construction. The materials used for the construction were branches, bamboo, rope and a plastic container which are all readily available. The tippy-tap was built near the school playground with the intention that the students wash their hands after using the latrines and before going back to the classroom after recess.   

                                                                   

                                                     Students at the tippy-tap presentation

                                       Tippy-tap frame built with tree branches and bamboo

                                                                   Finished tippy-tap

                                     One of the teachers washing her hands with the tippy-tap

     After the construction of the tippy-tap, the students participated in a drawing competition which topic was sanitation. The teachers at the school selected the six (6) best drawings; three (3) girls and three (3) boys. We were very impressed at the students’ perception of sanitation. They drew kids brushing their teeth, washing their hands, brushing their hair and taking a bath.  Hopefully this presentation serves as a reminder of the role that sanitation has in community health and more tippy-taps will be built around the community!  

                                                       Students drawing about sanitation

                                                           One of the winning drawings

¹ http://akvopedia.org/wiki/Tippy_Tap